Hamptons 100 Songs of Summer #11 “Call Me Maybe” By Carly Rae Jepsen

As we sit on the cusp of our end run through the Top 10, the Top 100 Songs of Summer Countdown finishes our first 90 with what could be the ultimate guilty pleasure tune. Carly Rae Jepsen’s “Call Me Maybe” inspires equal parts joy and shame for anyone over 25 (especially for those with a Y chromosome), yet it’s just too fun to be ignored. Therein lies the rub.This one’s been in our back pocket since June, but it’s time to put it to bed. Keeping “Call Me Maybe” out of the Top 10 wasn’t an easy choice. Maybe our shame got the best of us. Maybe.

Hamptons 100 Songs of Summer #11

“Call Me Maybe” By Carly Rae Jepsen

This quintessential teen pop song by Canadian singer-songwriter Carly Rae Jepsen originally appeared on her 2012 EP Curiosity and then exploded onto radios around the world as the first single on her debut album Kiss. Believe it or not Jepsen wrote “Call Me Maybe” as a folk song with Tavish Crowe—for those who need to feel better about liking it—but producer Josh Ramsay morphed it into the super-hit pop song most know and love (and pretend to hate).

It’s a song about waiting for that crush to call, the difficulty of love at first site and other such teen-centric problems. Beyond that, it’s cute, uplifting and absolutely makes us smile. Have you seen the spoof videos? Have you heard the covers? All of it comes together in a feel-good smorgasbord that would make any summer playlist sad for its absence. There’s a reason “Call Me Maybe” earned nominations for Song of the Year and Best Pop Solo Performance at the 55th Annual Grammy Awards. Too bad the former went to “We Are Young” by Fun. Seems like “Fun” should have called themselves “Depressing” when compared to Jepsen’s popular ditty.

Never fear, this is the prize that matters and Carly Rae made it to number 11. There’s no shame in that.